Sinulog in Cebu

The weekend in cebu will be filled with the annual sinulog festivities...this festival started in the early 80's and its in its 28th year I beleive so...this is one of the biggest festivals in the philippines, it showcases Cebu as a tourist destination....when it started a number of years ago...it started off as simple parade...and grew into a mardi gra type of street dancing with float contest and Higante or giant making props contest....from a very simple celebration it has evolved into something like a business or commercial..venture...this festival also spurred lots of copy cat festivals basically of the same genre...the Sinulog was not really the first of this mardi gras type of festival...in fact I believe the ati-atihan festival of kalibo was the first of such festivals...but the successful evolution of this festival was made here in cebu...every year celebrations ups the ante on next year's celebration until it has become a really grand event complete with all the works of a complete festival package as a tourist destination, festival hype, street dancing galore...or mania...which sometimes has over shadowed the true meaning of the Sinulog...The veneration of the Santo Nino De Cebu...For Cebuanos...they will always have a revere respect for the Hold Child and will always cherish this experience after having lived in Cebu...One time or another...Cebuanos have become a devotee of the Santo Nino....It is really a very moving spiritual experience to be a devotee and to do the Novena...I myself went through such a transformation before when I was a disrespectful, arrogant, addict, self loving black sheep of the family...when I turn to the Santo Nino...The Child Jesus change me....It was one of the difficult times in my life...and my petition then was that The Santo Nino guide me to transform me from my evil ways and lead me to change myself to have a better life...which I believe that I have succeeded in fact a lot of people have given up on my during those times...and they would always tell the story of how desperate I was then and how they have abandon all hope that I could change or mend my ways back to the righteous ways...but I did...It was an amazing transformation that I could only attribute to my devotion to the Santo Nino which change my life forever...Thank You Senor Santo Nino...Pit Senyor!!!!